A manufacturing system typically operates on parts, subassemblies, and/or assemblies that must be accurately located and securely clamped in place for manufacturing and assembly operations. For example, a sheet metal part, subassembly, or assembly may need to be accurately located and securely clamped in place to conduct assembly, welding, and inspection operations in the body shop of a vehicle assembly plant.
Part locating fixtures are normally used for this purpose. Part locating fixtures typically include a plurality of fixed pins that are configured to fit into a plurality of locating holes in the part and one or more clamps that are configured to clamp the part in place. Part locating fixtures are generally useable for only one particular part size and/or shape and usually need to be modified or rebuilt to locate and clamp a differently sized and/or shaped part. Multiple part locating fixtures are typically required for the wide variety of parts and the wide variety of assembly and manufacturing operations in a manufacturing plant.